The Walker Collaborative will return to Russellville at the end of this month, bringing with it a finalized downtown master plan for public view and comment.

The Collaborative, a group of consultants that has spent the last six months developing a long-term plan to renovate Russellville’s downtown area, will meet with Main Street Russellville’s Board of Directors and the Downtown Master Plan Steering Committee at noon on Aug. 28, before holding open meetings at 3 p.m. with “stakeholders and interested parties” in the first floor conference room of City Hall, where residents are invited to visit with the members of the group.

At 4 p.m. in the conference hall, finalized plans for the Main Street bulb-out project will be presented, as well as a preliminary plan of the El Paso Corridor project.

The bulb-out project, according to plans designed by consultant firm Fuss and O’Neill Inc., will put the bulb-outs — or rounded extensions of the highway’s curb — on the east side of the highway’s intersection with Denver Avenue and continue east with bulb-outs on all four corners of Commerce Avenue, two bulb-outs on the south side of Boulder Avenue and a modified bulb-out across the street. According to the design plans, the bulb-outs at their respective intersections will be connected by industrial granite sidewalks in an attempt to make a safer and easier means of crossing the busy thoroughfare.

The El Paso Corridor project, also being designed by Fuss and O’Neill aims to turn El Paso Avenue into a multi-modal street that will allow for use by cyclists, pedestrians and drivers, while potentially adding features such as streetscape or on-street parking.

The visit will conclude with a public presentation of the Downtown Master Plan at 6 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, followed by a Q&A.

“One of the neat efficiencies of doing this all in one day is not only are we going to get to present the entirety of the plan, but with regard to the two early implementation pieces that are currently in the hopper being developed — the completed plans for the bulbout project, as well as the early conceptual plans for the El Paso project — will be available for viewing,” said Downtown Master Plan Steering Committee chairman Jimmy Streett.

Streett said the plan will provide residents, city officials and downtown property owners a single comprehensive guide that easily directs its readers to various sections that encompass a variety of suggestions and requirements in regard to code enforcement and fire codes, while making the area vibrant and attractive to vendors.

But most importantly, he said, the plan was created by the wishes of the Russellville community.

“The input that went into creating this had to come from the community and what happens following the completion of it when you get to the implementation of it has to be driven by the community, so having public accessibility has to be the paramount issue on all of this,” Streett said.

Russellville Alderman Mark Tripp said he’s looking forward to the plan and its implementation process.

“We put a lot of time and resources into this so far, and I’m kind of excited to see what they have to say,” he said. “We’re getting a master plan study that will help to give us a road map to where we need to go to promote our downtown area that will make our whole community stronger.”

Tripp also commended the work of Streett and Main Street Russellville Director Betsy McGuire, adding they along with the various committees involved in the downtown area’s renovation process have put in a “tremendous amount of time.”

Arkansas Tech University President Robert Brown said he’s also excited about the master plan, which also aims to enhance accessibility between the university and downtown area.

“Arkansas Tech is pleased to be a cooperating sponsor with Downtown Russellville and of the master planning effort now under way,” he said. “We have a vested interest in the well-being of our host community, and as an institution that has achieved success through planning, we are truly excited by this undertaking.”